Katrina Piparo remembers that old musty apartment she and her two daughters shared for the longest time. She remembers the air conditioner never being replaced; the bugs all over; and the two rooms they had to share.
“I never thought I could ever get out of that situation,” said Katrina. “It was a commercial on TV about Habitat that made me think it was possible.”
Katrina qualified for the Habitat program in 2011. She would spend the next two years working to build a safe home for her and her daughters. Katrina loved working on other Habitat homes and getting to help families realize the same dream.
“I think during that whole process I still couldn’t see the result,” Katrina said. “I knew it was coming, but you spend all those years with a mindset that it just isn’t in the cards for you, that takes time to truly see that I am going to be a homeowner.”
Katrina was paired with HSN Cares a home sponsor. She remembers meeting their top executives and working alongside them through her home build.
“They were the best. I still think about all those volunteers who dropped everything to be with me and help me,” said Katrina. “HSN was the best partner, and I will always be grateful.”
At the time of the build, Katrina’s daughters Ivey and Alyvia were only 5 and 3, respectively, and don’t remember much before living in their Habitat home.
“We really don’t even bring it up too much because it was so long ago and this is our home and our only life we know,” said Ivey, now 16.
“That was always my goal,” said Katrina. “I wanted them to just remember this house and their own rooms and their memories of a stable living situation.”
“I do remember there were a lot people the first time I saw my house,” said Alyvia, who was 3 at the time (now 14).
That day was June 20, 2013, when Katrina and her kids opened the door to their forever home. It was the 273rd home in the Habitat affiliate’s history.
Katrina has stayed active in helping friends learn about the Habitat program, with some getting in and earning their own home. Even as Habitat expanded from Pinellas to West Pasco in 2019, and then Hernando County in 2024, Katrina kept up with requirements to help others.
“This program is amazing,” said Katrina. “This is helping families all over the area now.”
Katrina tells perspective Habitat candidates about her daughters and how they have grown up feeling “normal” with their house. They have dreams of being a chef and a doctor. That’s the priceless part of the Habitat journey for the single mom.
“Habitat taught me a lot of resiliency,” said Katrina. “I lost my job a few years back, and I didn’t panic. I started my own business. And I am succeeding. My daughters get to see that.”
“Habitat helped me make it happen.”
